Friday tea is becoming a nice new routine around here.

It seems like we all need a little something special to celebrate the start of the weekend.

And so, we make a little tea and a treat. And take a deep breath because the work of the week is almost done, and the work of the weekend is almost here!

This week, we made these amazing Peanut Butter Cookies from 101 Cookbooks. Heidi Swanson and her blog and cookbooks are wonderful resources for healthy, whole food recipes and ideas.

Her cookbook Super Natural Cooking is one of my favorites — and often spends months at a time on my kitchen counter never making its way back to its proper home on the bookshelf.

These cookies are so delicious. But I have to show extreme self-control because the batter is really, really good too. It is egg-free, so a little taste or two won’t hurt.

That’s the other cool thing about these cookies — there are only six ingredients, and they are ingredients we almost always have on hand.

We used to the spelt flour option, and kept a close eye on them so they were still chewy in the middle. Yum. The perfect way to start the weekend!

I printed this recipe out last year around Thanksgiving.

But you know how these things go — you print something out, file it away some place safe and then before you know it, three seasons have passed.

But with the temperature starting to drop, and most of the ingredients on hand, it seemed like the perfect time to tackle these Homemade Fruit and Nut Crisps from Simple Bites for Friday tea time.

I had only made crackers once before (I loved them, the kids did not). It was back in the gluten-free days and I remember they contained almond and sorghum flours and a mound of nutritional yeast. There was a lot of rolling and cutting, and some corner-burning as well.

These crackers are easier and still packed with good stuff. I did tweak the recipe slightly, using whole spelt and white spelt flour in place of the wheat flours. I also substituted almond milk for the buttermilk, and evaporated cane juice for the sugar.

They remind me of the crackers my sister has brought for us from England, but that I have never been able to find in the U.S. But they are sooo tasty that I keep looking.

Finally, I did not have any figs. I saw some figs at the grocery store last week. But I did not get them. I did stare at them for a bit and wonder why I felt pulled to them. But then I checked my meal plan for figgy pudding and seeing none listed, I moved on.

Happy Tea Time!

I do not have a serger.

I took a sewing class this summer and our teacher let us experiment with a serger, and oh man, I can see how a serger would come in very handy.

For a long time, I read cloth napkin tutorials online and wondered if it was worth it to invest in a special machine just to make them (MANY tutorials call for serged edges).

But a few years ago, I decided to try make a basket of cloth napkins without using a serger.

The results have lasted us until this point and have never frayed or come undone.

So although I might still, at times, dream of serging my little heart out, you don’t need a serger to make a whole stack of awesome cloth napkins.

You don’t even need much time or money. My first batch of napkins was made entirely out of bargain bin fabrics, and small pieces at that so there could be lots of variety. I made the whole stack, about 32 napkins, during a long weekend.

The key is to assembly-line it. Cut everything, iron everything and sew everything.

A note about the ironing: I know. I iron about 3 times a year outside of sewing. And when it comes to sewing projects, I don’t iron unless the project really calls for it. But ironing the edges on these napkins will make your life so much easier. I promise.

Another quick, time-saving tip … Pick your fabric along one color scheme and you can use the same thread all the way through!

No-serge Cloth Napkins 101

1/4 yard fabric (ours are almost all cotton)

iron

scissors

thread

a very cute basket for organizing your new napkins (optional, I guess)

A 1/4 yard of fabric will make 4 napkins. These will be smaller “tea-size” napkins, but they are great for little faces and little folders. If you want bigger napkins, you can just cut larger pieces of fabric. You can even use this same concept to make a teeny tablecloth!

Fold your fabric in half length-wise and cut. Fold each piece once more and cut again to make four equal pieces.

Fold over the edges 1/4 inch and iron. Fold another 1/4 inch and iron again to create a nice, even edge.

Now, just sew up the edges.

Totally quick and easy — and think of all the trees you are saving each time you use them.

I completely justify keeping a single roll of paper towels on hand for explosive cats and dogs this way!